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| the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities so the worker can use a # of different skills and talent. Ex. Slim in 8mile vs. a pediatrician |
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| the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work. Ex. a carpenter who sculpts his own furniture and someone who works a station on an assembly line |
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| The degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people. Ex. a janitor vs. a heart surgeon |
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| the degree to which a job provides substantial freedom, independence and discretion to the individual. Ex. someone who runs their own bakery vs. someone on an assembly line |
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| the degree to which carrying out the work activities required by a job results in the individual obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his performance. Ex. someone who builds computers then receives tests results stating the computers quality vs. someone who builds computers and ships them to another department who assesses and makes changes themselves |
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| --Skill variety, task identity and task significance contribute to meaningful work. Feedback results in internal rewards; personally experiencing responsibility also results in satisfaction when the outcome is good and they know that what they’ve done is good. |
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| also known as cross training, it involves periodically shifting an employee from one job to another. When a job is no longer challenging, an employee is rotated to another task. Job rotation reduces boredom, increases motivation through diversity of employee activities, and helps employees understand how their work contributes to the organization. JR also has indirect benefits because when employees have a wider skill set, managers have more flexibility in scheduling work, adapting to changes and filling vacancies. Negative aspects include, training costs increase and production is reduced because by moving a worker into a new position when efficiency at the prior job is just creating organized work structure. Things are always some what chaotic. Also, members have to readjust when moved to new employees and supervisors |
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| Increasing the number and variety of tasks that an individual performs results in more diversity when working. This is a horizontal expansion of a job. Different from job rotation as jobs are redesigned, the nature of the position changes. |
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| Refers to the vertical expansion of a job. It increases the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution and evaluation of work. An enriched job organizes tasks to allow workers to do a complete activity, increase the freedom and independence of the worker and increase the responsibility of the worker, and provides positive feedback so individuals will be able to asses and correct their own performance. |
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| Alternative Work Arrangements |
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| Flextime, Job Sharing, Telecommuting, Participative Management, Representative Participation |
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| Alternative Work Arrangements |
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| Flextime, Job Sharing, Telecommuting, Participative Management, Representative Participation |
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| it allows employees some discretion over when they arrive at work and when they leave. Employees have to work a set number of hours, but are free to vary the hours that they work, with in limits. Flextime is very successful leading to many benefits, including reduced absenteeism, reduced overtime expenses, reduced hostility toward management etc. However, this system is not applicable to every job. For example, this is not an option for receptionists, sales personnel or similar jobs which need comprehensive service. |
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| — it allows 2 or more individuals to split a 40hr. work week. Tough because it requires that 2 individuals have compatible time schedules. However, it allows the manager to utilize the talents of two individuals in one job. It also opens up the possibility for restricted skill workers, like women with children. |
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| flexible hours, freedom to dress as you please, no commuting and few or no interruptions from colleagues. It refers to the practice of allowing employees to do their jobs from home. Positives include, a larger labor pool from which to select, higher productivity, less turnover, improved morale, and reduced office space costs. However, this also comes with the downside of less supervision of employees. Telecommuting also makes it difficult for managers to coordinate team work. Telecommuting has also been shown to potentially decrease job satisfaction, as employees feel isolated. |
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| the key characteristic is the use of joint decision making; subordinates share a significant degree of decision making power with their immediate superiors. Studies show only a modest influence on variables such as productivity, motivation and job satisfaction. |
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| Representative Participation |
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| Different from participative management in that workers are represented by a small group of employees who actually participate. The goal is to redistribute power within an organization, putting labor on a more equal footing with the interests of management and stock holders. Studies show, however, the results are minimal. |
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| Establishing Pay Structure |
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| The process of initially setting pay levels can be rather complex and entails balancing internal equity, or the worth of the job to the organization, with external equity or the external competitiveness of an organization’s pay relative to pay elsewhere in the industry. |
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| instead of paying a person for time on the job, or seniority, a variable-pay program bases a portion of an employees pay on some individual or organizational measure of performance. NOTE as performance declines, the cost of labor would decline as well. Also, when pay is tied to performance, reward is based on contribution not entitlement. |
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| workers are paid a fixed sum for each unit of production completed. With no base salary, when one only receives pay based on production, its pure piece rate pay system. People selling peanuts in ballparks are often paid this way. However, this is not a feasible payment option for many jobs. Ex. Nick Saban football coach example, he would never accept 500K per win, and if he did it might encourage cheating. |
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| Unlike piece rate pay systems, merit based pay is not objectively determined but rather is based on performance appraisal evaluations. This allows employers to differentiate between high performers and low performers. When designed correctly, workers can see a strong correlation between performance and pay received. However, if the performance ratings are invalid than the pay differences are invalid as well. In addition, if merit based pay rewards are given from a raise-pool, economic conditions could skew the amount of award that should be received. Ex. professor during the depression wins the nobel prize and wins a ton of the pay-raise pool, which is 5 bucks |
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| One advantage comparing bonuses to merit based, is that bonuses award employees based on recent performance. Could be viewed negatively, any worker would choose a 5000$ increase in annual wage over a one time bonus of 5000$. There are no future guarantees. |
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| compensation is determined by how many skills an employee has, not their position alone. Ex. nurse in spain trying to learn Spanish. This plan increases the flexibility of the workforce, and facilitates inter-job communication as people have a better understanding of each other’s work. The main downside is that there has to be a cutoff, eventually people learn all the skills they can learn in a job. Also, people may acquire skills for which they have no immediate need to increase their pay, |
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| additional compensation is determined by a formula that distributes a company’s profits to workers. |
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| a formula based, group incentive plan—improvements in group productivity from one period to another determine the total amount of money that is to be allocated. Rewards are tied to productivity rather than profits (different then profit sharing). |
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| Employee Stock Ownership Plan |
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Definition
| company established benefit plans in which employees acquire stock, often at below market prices, as part of their benefits. Publix is now over 50% employee owned. Research indicates they increase employee satisfaction, however, without keeping the employees informed and participating in an organizations business status, productivity isn’t necessarily affected. |
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--profit-sharing plans generally lead to higher company profitability
--gain-sharing has proven to improve employee attitudes and increase productivity.
--overall, more or less successful |
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Flexible benefits allow each employee to put together a benefits package individually tailored to specific needs.
Modular plans are pre-designed packages of benefits, with each module put together to meet the needs of a specific group of employees. Core plus plans consist of core essential benefits and a menu-like selection of other benefit options. Flexible spending plans allow employees to set aside up to the dollar amount offered in the plan to pay for particular services. |
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| Employee recognition programs, i.e. employee of the month. Obvious advantage is that they are inexpensive. However, critics suggest these programs are highly susceptible to political manipulation by the management. In sales, this might not happen but in something less objectively quantifiable, managers can elevate their favorite employees. |
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